Itan's ECHL Shootout Goal

[kevinsmithAZ]

I know this was posted in a thread already but I think everyone should take a look at this... crazy.
To do this on ice, and in the ECHL? Wow.

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=44426270

[Clever Name]

nice goal, camera person sucks though...shooting it that way, had to turn my laptop sideways

[hbgragintic68]

dont know how he does it but what waz that goalie thinking he should have come out soon as he seen him get down that low before picking the puck up

[Bronson9]

good thing he didnt miss.

[Hystyk28]

Obviously the kid has sick hands and a tremendous player, but if he really wants to play at that level, he should have just gone in and shelfed it. All those ice dudes, including his own teammates probably think that was bush and I'd hate to see if he did that in a regular season game.

Was the goalie asleep at the wheel or what?

Still fun to watch.

[njstampede12]

Dude don't hate cause we all know if Crosby or Ovechkin did that we would be like omg thats was awesome. let the guys be he is a great player and a wel rounded hockey player.

[BEEZERAL]

The problem is that 8-10 times that puck flies off his stick before he throws it on net. Not a smart move to use in ANY pivitol situation, great for all-star games and skills competitions, but for a real game, stick with what works more than 20% of the time. Goalie needed to dive out at that when he went to pick up the puck.

[branches87]

yeah the kid is obviously good, no one argues that, if he wasn't he wouldn't have accomplished what he has. but honestly do you think that the bigger guys on the other team don't remember the tiny kid picking the puck up in the shoot out. If he did that in the game instead of shootout I'm sure he would have had to fight.

[Hystyk28]

Dude don't hate cause we all know if Crosby or Ovechkin did that we would be like omg thats was awesome. let the guys be he is a great player and a wel rounded hockey player.

Did you my read post? That was hardly hatin'. Anyone that knows anything about the game knows that if that was pulled in a regulation game the kid would have to stand behind it. We aren't talkin' rec league or any of the alphabet soup roller leagues, we are talking where the term "professional" means something.

[William Bourque]

yeah the kid is obviously good, no one argues that, if he wasn't he wouldn't have accomplished what he has. but honestly do you think that the bigger guys on the other team don't remember the tiny kid picking the puck up in the shoot out. If he did that in the game instead of shootout I'm sure he would have had to fight.

And that is why hockey has no marketability at all, we all try to beat down the ones who would sell our game to non-hockey fans.

[branches87]

the day hockey becomes a sport where its about picking up the puck and seeing who can do the most flashy moves is the day i stop watching. what makes hocky marketable is the fighting and hitting and sure that stuff is cool to watch but you will never see anyone in the nhl do it, there is a level or respect for goalies and the game.

[njstampede12]

Guys stop all the hating my god. hockey is hockey ok. if you wana pull the "michigan" then do it. if you wanna do what Itan did let is be. he did it in a Shootout preseason game. let it be . A goal is a goal. a fight is a fight. big deal. he has sick hands and he has a talent all of wish we had. let it be.

[William Bourque]

the day hockey becomes a sport where its about picking up the puck and seeing who can do the most flashy moves is the day i stop watching. what makes hocky marketable is the fighting and hitting and sure that stuff is cool to watch but you will never see anyone in the nhl do it, there is a level or respect for goalies and the game.

That wasn't the point i was trying to make.

[alex]

The twisted logic of the hockey code. He should have just gone in and shot. It's better he takes a shot over the net and stays "respectful" than does something different and scores a goal. His coach definitely sent him out in the shootout to go be respectful and do something ordinary Itan, scoring is optional. :rolleyes:

[jawz&chum]

off subject, maybe I missed something but that's not from an ECHL game right??

[njstampede12]

Cj in all honesty that was asick move and i respect what he did and does thats Itan im talking about

[Hystyk28]

The twisted logic of the hockey code. He should have just gone in and shot. It's better he takes a shot over the net and stays "respectful" than does something different and scores a goal. His coach definitely sent him out in the shootout to go be respectful and do something ordinary Itan, scoring is optional. :rolleyes:

Well my friend, if Itan is so fortunate to be able to collect a paycheck while playing hockey, he will pay some dues for those actions. Even in today's tamer hockey world, that will not be tolerated. I don't make "the code", but you better believe he will learn to respect "it" in order to keep both his job and limbs. You are familiar with hockey right? If you think this is this first kid with puck skills you have been drinkin' some funky kool aid. He already has an uphill battle ahead of him: Undersized American roller hockey player with a limited ice background.

I wish the kid the best and I believe he may find a home in the ECHL.

[Hystyk28]

Cj in all honesty that was asick move and i respect what he did and does thats Itan im talking about

Translation please...:confused::D

[Doug Jones]

I know this was posted in a thread already but I think everyone should take a look at this... crazy.
To do this on ice, and in the ECHL? Wow.

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=44426270

Itan is a great ambassador and he'll sell tickets in Ontario since he's native to that area. He brings excitement and a good fan base to the area. I wish him luck.

Now, the real point of what I am saying, I hope he doesn't try that during the regular season. In 1987 if he did that in the old' school ECHL there'd be a bench clearing brawl and he in the middle of it. If no one got to him, he'd have a target painted on him the next time the two teams met.

Best wishes for him to continue to be successful. It's great to see a local play for the pro team. Itan, some advice, start training with a local fighter and or IFC competitor, because to protect yourself, it's good to learn those skills too.

[Poe31]

eh, its hard to tell from the video...but it looks awfully close to the crossbar. Should've been called a high stick, on principle...there's your goalie perspective.

[joisyan]

i've personally never seen him play. and after seeing the youtube videos and this one specifically, i want to watch him play. this is something a 20 year old kid, who made an open tryout, who obviously has his coach's confidence to put him in a shoot out (granted it's preseason). and will undoubtedly make that team. i think we're overlooking the fact that he is 1 in a million. if you think i'm overshooting then just wait to see when he gets an AHL contract once he's the league's leading scorer for years to come. and if anyone in their right mind thinks that he's got "dues to pay," then wait to see how many guys are going to stick up for him in games to come. if i had a player on my team that had even HALF his skill, i'd fight anyone whether he scored lacrosse style or not. it brings up team morale, it brings fanbase, and i dont care how many "oldschool" hockey fans dont like it. the NHL isnt "old school" anymore; they've made new rules to prevent it from being "old school," that's why guys like ovechkin and crosby are where they are. crosby pulled the michigan plenty of times, not in the NHL, but i'm sure he'd do it if he could. ovechkin has pulled some pretty flashy moves to get through and around players, and i've seen guys in the NHL shooting between their legs or making sick moves in regular season shootouts. that's why there ARE shootouts, for the fans! so why not cater to the fans! it's the new era of NHL where younger and faster is the way to be. and i think he's going to fit in perfectly

[njstampede12]

Totally Agree tim

[Hystyk28]

i've personally never seen him play. and after seeing the youtube videos and this one specifically, i want to watch him play. this is something a 20 year old kid, who made an open tryout, who obviously has his coach's confidence to put him in a shoot out (granted it's preseason). and will undoubtedly make that team. i think we're overlooking the fact that he is 1 in a million. if you think i'm overshooting then just wait to see when he gets an AHL contract once he's the league's leading scorer for years to come. and if anyone in their right mind thinks that he's got "dues to pay," then wait to see how many guys are going to stick up for him in games to come. if i had a player on my team that had even HALF his skill, i'd fight anyone whether he scored lacrosse style or not. it brings up team morale, it brings fanbase, and i dont care how many "oldschool" hockey fans dont like it. the NHL isnt "old school" anymore; they've made new rules to prevent it from being "old school," that's why guys like ovechkin and crosby are where they are. crosby pulled the michigan plenty of times, not in the NHL, but i'm sure he'd do it if he could. ovechkin has pulled some pretty flashy moves to get through and around players, and i've seen guys in the NHL shooting between their legs or making sick moves in regular season shootouts. that's why there ARE shootouts, for the fans! so why not cater to the fans! it's the new era of NHL where younger and faster is the way to be. and i think he's going to fit in perfectly

Wow you already have him with an AHL contract? Why stop there, just put him in the show. I guess time will tell, but that is pretty crazy thinking since according to the article all the tryout folk may be bumped due to AHL players being reassigned there. Again, I hope the kid gets a chance to play.

Oh, in case you haven't looked lately most organizations are made up of former pro players. There is plenty of old school left in the game, don't be fooled. Canadian coaches takin care of Canadian players is the norm. Ask some minor league American guys about that. Hell, that occurred in the RHI and even MLRH.

My time to discuss this kid is done for today. Best of luck to him.

[joisyan]

that's cool if you want to attack everything anyone says. that's your prerogative. i'm simply saying what's more than likely being said all over the league right now; that he has done everything he needs to do to make that team, and to further his chances of making the NHL in the future. he turned heads in the open camp, obviously the training camp also if he's playing preseason, and doing what he needs to do during games to make the team. and that's scoring goals and doing it with flare. and i understand that guys from AHL are going to fall back on the team, but you or anyone else cant tell me that a young player with his abilities is not a positive assett to that team.

[njstampede12]

Hystk28 dude quit bashing the guy.

[branches87]

hystyk is right joisyn? or whatever.... how can you say that he will already by in the ahl when he hasnt even made the echl. and then to call him a leading scorer in it? this isn't some roller hockey tournament bud its professional ice hockey. even if you have goons on your team he will still get his ass kicked out there just like crosby and all the top players do in the nhl. and as far as your michigan quote...... yeah u answered your own question Crosby did the michigan in JUNIORS not the NHL and i guarantee you every nhl player can do what itan does they just practice their time on real skills that you use in a game.

[kevinsmithAZ]

hystyk is right joisyn? or whatever.... how can you say that he will already by in the ahl when he hasnt even made the echl. and then to call him a leading scorer in it? this isn't some roller hockey tournament bud its professional ice hockey. even if you have goons on your team he will still get his ass kicked out there just like crosby and all the top players do in the nhl. and as far as your michigan quote...... yeah u answered your own question Crosby did the michigan in JUNIORS not the NHL and i guarantee you every nhl player can do what itan does they just practice their time on real skills that you use in a game.

He's played ice hockey for 4 years? Stop hating.. we as an inline hockey community should ALL be happy for ANYONE that gets the chance of a lifetime like this.

Hopefully Itan makes it and can use his status to bring some attention to our game.

[quick_dry]

the way this thread has gone reminds me of "Semi Pro" and the alley-oop.

someone brought up that comes off the stick half the time, low percentage play etc. But you could apply that to deking, we've all seen guys pull off amazing dekes, have the goalie out of position, on the floor, completely underessed.... and then the puck doesn't end up in the back of the net. It seems that deking with the puck on the rink is acceptable, but something uncommon like deking in the air is unacceptable.

It just seems ridiciulous that a more 'showy' deke is considered 'wrong' - 2 players may pull different moves with the same chances of not scoring, or losing the puck off the stick - but doing it on the ground you're 'unlucky' or choked.. but pick the puck up and you're some shmuck who should be run by the nearest goon.

Its a shootout, you're there to win, within the framework of the rules, you do what you have to.

(would it have been outrageously 'disrespectful' by way of being unorthodox, if the goalie had charged out and checked him before he made the shot?)

I reckon if people looked up the A-11 offensive tactics in american football where the strategy is to make any player a potential receiver of a forward pass you'll find essays on how it is wrong by way of being unorthodox, and counterpoints that innovation improves the game. (With no background in the game, I ddin't even know it _wasn't_ 'the done thing')

on a conceptually related note - it used to be incredibly obscene and violating all sorts of social moors for girls to hit the beach in anything approaching the brevity of a bikini... I'm really glad that we were able to move beyond that, because some girls in bikinis that you see at the beach are a hundred times more spectacular than a michigan in a hockey game ;)

[William Bourque]

At one time it was illegal for a player to take a slap shot in the NHL and goalies didn't wear masks and players didn't wear helmets...

[DieselBurns]

i've personally never seen him play. and after seeing the youtube videos and this one specifically, i want to watch him play. this is something a 20 year old kid, who made an open tryout, who obviously has his coach's confidence to put him in a shoot out (granted it's preseason). and will undoubtedly make that team. i think we're overlooking the fact that he is 1 in a million. if you think i'm overshooting then just wait to see when he gets an AHL contract once he's the league's leading scorer for years to come. and if anyone in their right mind thinks that he's got "dues to pay," then wait to see how many guys are going to stick up for him in games to come. if i had a player on my team that had even HALF his skill, i'd fight anyone whether he scored lacrosse style or not. it brings up team morale, it brings fanbase, and i dont care how many "oldschool" hockey fans dont like it. the NHL isnt "old school" anymore; they've made new rules to prevent it from being "old school," that's why guys like ovechkin and crosby are where they are. crosby pulled the michigan plenty of times, not in the NHL, but i'm sure he'd do it if he could. ovechkin has pulled some pretty flashy moves to get through and around players, and i've seen guys in the NHL shooting between their legs or making sick moves in regular season shootouts. that's why there ARE shootouts, for the fans! so why not cater to the fans! it's the new era of NHL where younger and faster is the way to be. and i think he's going to fit in perfectly

The kid has unbelievable hands but AHL, seriously? When Tohrs went to full contact in the pro division he was nearly invisible. That's 4 on 4 with a lot of room out there. He would get eaten alive in the AHL

[jawz&chum]

Translation please...:confused::D

not sure what plaugs is saying either... I don't speak "jersey" :p


My only question was regarding the title of this post "ECHL Shootout Goal".. this does not look like an ECHL Shootout. Was it preseason or something? I just figured I missed a post somewhere.

In all honesty, if you can make the move and score, do it. whether it's ice or inline. he's just gotta know that until that kind of move becomes common (doubt it ever will because of the skill it takes) there's going to be players that are going to come after him for it.

I'm sure he knows that and doesn't care. anything that adds more skill to the game is OK by me.

[joisyan]

rob schremp. if you havent heard of him. search his name. he was the league leading scorer for the AHL. i see him when i see itan's highlights or youtube videos. tell me that this is an american hockey player that was being overlooked by "canadien coaches" when he tried out for a team. itan is the same caliber and has the same moves that he does. and he's not doing anything stupid during the games, simply when he's given the chance in shoot outs. anyone care to elaborate? he may be young, and he may not be up to par, but he is a diamond in the rough that is worth bringing up through the ranks. i'm telling you

[kevinsmithAZ]

not sure what plaugs is saying either... I don't speak "jersey" :p


My only question was regarding the title of this post "ECHL Shootout Goal".. this does not look like an ECHL Shootout. Was it preseason or something? I just figured I missed a post somewhere.

In all honesty, if you can make the move and score, do it. whether it's ice or inline. he's just gotta know that until that kind of move becomes common (doubt it ever will because of the skill it takes) there's going to be players that are going to come after him for it.

I'm sure he knows that and doesn't care. anything that adds more skill to the game is OK by me.

It was preseason and yeah this was ECHL

[rhhof]

I agree with joisyan...he is worth bringing up, though raw - In the ECHL though its a numbers game - between the guys that coaches want and what the organization above them sends down, its a numbers game

Ontario just cut 6 more players this week - Itan had an assist on the Reign's lone goal in a 4-1 loss against Las Vegas the other day...he is a great and I know he deserves a shot but with "give aways" and "not the best play away from the puck" the coach is keeping him on for now

He is a very quick study and I am pushing for him - but if he gets cut, I will be the first guy on the phone for him to the single A leagues

Rob Schremp is a great example but he did pay his dues through many years of hard work through juniors, minors and into the NHL once in a while through injury....Itan, though undersized and inexperienced, is that diamond in the rough...

[Ben Lambert]

I spoke with Itan via phone a few weeks back. I know just a little about him other than the obvious. He seemed like an intellegent, well spoken person in our brief conversation. I hope he is wildly successful in all of his hockey ventures. He seems like a quality individual and definitely has a fan in St. Louis.

Good luck Itan!

[missionhockey19]

Ok i think everyone needs to take it easy on the bashing of Itan unless you've ACTUALLY played against/with this kid. Being one of the bigger players in roller hockey I can legitimately say i've thrown my weight at Itan plenty of times, and yes in Torhs with full contact, yes on the ice, and the kid can definately take a hit, infact hes prob been one of the hardest to knock down. Hes an all around great player, and being that the Ontario Reign is a new ECHL team looking to gain fans fast, Itan is the perfect answer. Think about how many fans that were at that game to witness his shoot out goal that now wants to come back to see him try to do somethign else ridiculous, he'll put fans in the seats and thats exactly what the Reign organization needs/wants. I think we all need to sit back and see what he does...regardless, congrats Itan and good luck this season...

-Stephen Campbell

[RichardGraham]

Hi Stephen,

Excellent post. It's neat to see a competitor of Itan's tell it like it is, give proper respect to a great player, and think about the positives of Itan's presence in the ECHL. Very cool.

How about those of us within an hour or two of Ontario pick a game this season to attend and cheer on Itan? I'm up for it.

[CUDangled]

Shootouts are fun to watch...
Pre season games mean nothing...

So, if a new team wants to provide some excitement for the fans in a meaningless game...go for it. This happens at ALL levels of the game.

Just check out this video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSSGXelQ6FA

[missionhockey19]

Hi Stephen,

Excellent post. It's neat to see a competitor of Itan's tell it like it is, give proper respect to a great player, and think about the positives of Itan's presence in the ECHL. Very cool.

How about those of us within an hour or two of Ontario pick a game this season to attend and cheer on Itan? I'm up for it.


Perhaps if the FL Everblades ever come to town, that way we can get a glimpse of my stellar D-man Ernie Hartlieb on the ice as well...

[LU77]

Stephen Campbell is my hero.....


Brandon Barnette

[longboarderj]

Hi Stephen,

Excellent post. It's neat to see a competitor of Itan's tell it like it is, give proper respect to a great player, and think about the positives of Itan's presence in the ECHL. Very cool.

How about those of us within an hour or two of Ontario pick a game this season to attend and cheer on Itan? I'm up for it.

We have a mini plan for the Reign but would love to get some guys together to see Itan play. We meet him at the season ticket holders party and he was great. He is also my son's favorite player.

[RichardGraham]

Hi longboarderj,

Let me know a few days in advance when you might want to go. I'm one of the "greenest" people in America right now, as I don't own a car at this time. I'll need advance notice to borrow a car or a few days if I'm going to skate to Ontario. ;)